The Adonis Factor

Honestly, I happen to love looking at the muscular , fit bodies of young , tanned handsome man! As a very straight woman, I can only say that I wish straight men would take such pride in their physique! It's really a darn shame. too many straight, white men are total slobs , about their physicality and for their demeanor. They are really just crummy pieces of fat. It really helps me, to remember that I love gay men! I've had a couple of friends who were gay men, and they were absolutely the best friends of my life. But, needless to say , they weren't very good sex partners! But that's okay. because, really, life doesn't revolve around sex! MY friends were beautiful , spiritual and lovely human beings altogether. I wish people could just stop focusing on sexual orientation . Doesn't matter, none of it matters. All that matters is really how our souls connect to one another . For me , anyway . I enjoyed watching this , because I enjoy watching gorgeous men! But I'm also sympathetic to the emotional and psychological problems that young, gay men might face before they recognize their desires. And my heart goes out to them . We all deserve to be loved. ALL of us .

I just watched this on NetFlix and I'm here to purchase a copy for my collection. As an openly aging gay man I was surprised at how well this documentary was. It hits on the pressures of being a gay male in places like SF in the Castro or LA or New York. There is an ABUNDANT amount of pressure, esp if your young and just coming out. It's fatal to some it's so bad. Back in the day (80's) I developed a very thick skin early on and what I couldn't handle, unfortunately, I turned to substances with which to deaden my perception of what I couldn't handle or didn't want to face. Clean and sober now for over 20 years, life goes on. Back in the day I saw myself as just too different to really fit in to many of these groups that I wanted so badly to be a part of and I simply wasn't prepared to deal with rejection of it emotionally. Now the pressure is even more so as there are even more sub cultures to deal with and it's not easy for allot of folks to deal with. Folks who view this film as "paltry eye candy" with very little substance really don't know what it's like. For folks that want a good documentary on what's going on in many of the gay sub cultures captured in interviews and yes visuals then this will be helpful to them in understanding. I liked that many of these Adonises admit that it's not all about looks. It's not meant to scare guys but it is good to go in prepared for the pressure or just be strong enough to say "I'm good the way I am" and move forward.

This film is about the pervasive attention given to a man's looks in the current gay scene. I identify the scene as the bars, circuit parties, street fairs, weekend parties, and gay-ghetto gyms of Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Francisco and Atlanta as shown in this film. By focusing on about a dozen men who have found life pretty good by having "Adonis" credentials (or inventing them with extensive workouts, correct diet, supplementation including anabolic steroids, and plastic surgery), the film's surface message that such looks are superficial is countered by a subtext that these men are worth paying attention to only because of their physical appearance. In other words, the film buys into the stereotype it's trying to fight. Yes, a handful of men who resist the Adonis syndrome get profiled, but let's face it: the Adonises get the first and last look. Most of the Adonises here don't seem very pleasant or self-aware; it's hard to take someone seriously when he says the most important things in life have nothing to do with his looks after he's described the Botox injections and plastic surgery he's had done. Many explanations are offered for why gay culture idolizes men for their looks, but nothing sticks. The bottom line is this: when a man buffs up, other men pay him attention. I found the bonus feature interviews with the men profiled in the film (and the interview with director Christopher Hines) to be more interesting, relaxed, and insightful than the film itself. It is most suitable for mature audiences because of explicit content.

This Documentory starts out highlighting and almost promoting the often shallow and pretentious gay circuit scene as it relates to the targeted muscular male demographic. As the film progresses you realize the intention of this production was to let the participants speak for themselves and share their story which is simply a reflection of the world they live in. This film exposes the harsh reality of what is really a self imposed prison of desperation to be accepted by other gay men. The "boys" from West Hollywood which were interviewed was a perfect example of this and how when taken too far can lead to disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. Sadly they seemed to think it was pretty funny and couldn't grasp how diseased they had all become. I'm really glad the filmmakers included a couple that appeared to be healthy and stable as well as a hyper masculine gay man that couldn't care less about the scene. It helped illustrate that not all gay men are so shallow and some are actually pretty normal and desirable. Finally the viewer is left to ponder why most of the hottest men portrayed are still single and don't appear at all that happy. Funnelling so much energy into your appearance definately has its drawbacks.

denis and i love that ! we enjoy ! :)